Past Present
by Fenrir-444
Summary: All seems peaceful in Tokyo as the Senshi get on with their everyday lives. Perhaps they should have remembered that nothing is ever as neat and tidy as it seems. (Post classic series, Shoujo-ai content).
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any associated products. I do not own anything, even my sanity is rental.

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Walking slowly down the quiet street on the way home from school, the blue haired teenager seemed oblivious to the increasingly loud antics of her three friends.

 "…I do not think with my stomach, Mina-chan! I think with my brain. See! I did biology at school too!"  Usagi pointed to her head and grinned at Minako who seemed unaffected by this logic.

 "So why is ice cream always your answer to everything?" Minako smiled back as she cheerfully teased her friend, "What shall we do? … Ice cream! Where shall we go? … Ice cream parlour! Where shall we have our study meeting? ...." At this point the entire group except the blue haired girl joined in a chorus of "…The Ice Cream Parlour!"

The third girl sighed and stretched her tall frame to its fullest, shaking out her long auburn ponytail as she did so. "Ahhh, it's hot enough today for me to agree with Usagi. I could happily eat an ice cream right now, how about you Ami?"

At last the fourth girl of the group looked up from her book to focus on her friends, "ah... sorry Mako-chan, I was uh… "

Green eyes looked mischievously into startled blue ones as Makoto grinned indulgently at her friend. "…Just reading, I know. How about a cool ice cream while you read though? It's such a sunny day today."

Ami blinked and then smiled. "I would like that, yes. Are we going now or is that where we have moved tonight's study meeting to?"

The taller girl shrugged then sighed as she replied, "I guess it would be better to go later, I'd like to get out of this horrible uniform and I know Usagi will be in more trouble than she usually is if she is late home a fourth time this week."

A startled squeak issued from Usagi as she turned and sped off down the path, odango's bobbing and long blonde ponytails streaming behind her as she ran. "Aaah! Sorry, see you all later.. I have to go!" 

Minako laughed and the others chuckled as Usagi disappeared out of sight.

"I'd better get moving too. I'll call Rei and let her know about the change of venue tonight. See you then." With a wave and a smile, Minako jogged off in a slightly different direction to that Usagi had taken.

"If I hurry I can get an extra hour's study in before the meeting." Ami flipped her book shut and tucked it in her bag as she began walking towards the corner. A slightly startled Makoto jogged to catch up.

"You know, I think it's your hair colour that makes you so serious." She examined the smaller girl's dark blue hair critically as she walked beside her. "You should consider bleaching it."

Makoto couldn't help the laughter that burst out of her at the sight of her friend's wide eyed look of shock.

"You're not serious!" Ami's shock turned to a small frown as she regarded the giggling girl beside her. "You always tease me so, Mako-chan. Perhaps I should dye my hair and see if you find it less amusing." She watched in amusement as Makoto's laughter spluttered into disbelief.

"You wouldn't!" Makoto stared at her friend, laughter still curling her mouth. Ami's frown twitched in response then turned into a smile and a chuckle as she took her friend's arm and began walking again.

"No, I wouldn't".

As the sound of the girls' laughter moved off down the street, it was echoed by a much deeper tone from the shadows.

"Now, it is time."

*   *   *

Just a short intro to see how it works, more updates later.


	2. Chapter 1

My apologies for the previous half-post of this chapter, I'm still trying to get the hang of this whole writing thing. This chapter is now complete.

The R-rating on this story is a precaution as I'm not entirely sure yet how certain scenes are going to turn out.

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The ice cream parlour was overflowing with large crowds and the five girls guarded their small corner booth with strategically spread out textbooks and mounds of rapidly melting ice cream.

"It's just too hot to study." Usagi stared limply at her workbook as she slowly spooned the slush in her ice cream bowl. "Why can't it be summer break already?"

The question fell largely on deaf ears as the other four girls tried to focus on their work. After the sixth similar repetition, the group had exhausted all sensible replies. Usagi turned her mournful gaze to her bowl and poked at the melting lump in the bottom before sighing loudly and returning to her book. For a moment the skitter of pens and the rustle of pages mingled with the murmur of the crowd until the air was again broken by a sigh.

"Ahh... I still don't get it." Makoto pushed her fringe away from her eyes and glared at the textbook in front of her. "_Why_ does n times two, plus two, equal c?" Her frustrated gaze sought out their resident expert in all things academic, only to find the girl in question staring blankly out of the window at the passing traffic. 

"Ami?" Makoto's voice was almost harsh with surprise, causing the blue-haired genius to jump slightly in her seat as she jerked her gaze back from the window. "Ami-chan? Are you ok?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine." Ami regained her composure and flicked her gaze down to her textbook.

"Are you sure?" The taller girl leaned forward slightly, her voice softened in concern.

"Yes, I'm sure. I just… I was just wondering…" Ami's voice trailed off and she fiddled awkwardly with her pen for a moment before raising her eyes to look back across the table at her friend. "Mako-chan, do you ever feel like we've done this all before?"

The question caught the attention of the rest of the group and Rei lifted her head, fingers toying absently with a strand of her long dark hair as she spoke.

"What do you mean?"

Ami looked away from Makoto and saw that the others had all paused in their work to listen. The pen twitched in her hands once again as she took a small breath before continuing.

"A moment ago I was reading my physics questions and I realised that I had seen them all before." She frowned slightly at the open book in front of her as she organised her thoughts, "It wasn't just the questions, but the whole project. Then I looked up and for a second everything looked different, the same, but different, almost as if I was seeing it all over again."

"You mean like deja-vu?" Minako leaned forward, wide blue eyes eager and interested. Beside her Rei looked thoughtful.

Ami nodded. "Something like that, yes." She looked down at her textbook again, a faint blush highlighting her cheeks. "It sounds silly, I know. My thoughts were just wandering..." her embarrassed apology was interrupted by Rei's low voice from the other end of the table.

"No." The raven-haired shrine maiden looked serious, almost gloomy. "I think we've all felt that way sometimes. Ever since..." Rei trailed off, her eyes shadowed with memories.

The group fell silent for a moment as all thoughts turned inward to hazy memories of icy blizzards and painfully won battles. 

"D-point…" Usagi's voice was a trembling whisper but it seemed to break the silent mood of darkness and loss that gripped them all.

"That was then," Makoto's voice was quiet but firm, "This is now." Emerald eyes sought and held the gaze of the other girls one by one, finally meeting deep blue eyes darkened by worry. A faint but encouraging grin rose on her lips as she regarded the girl opposite her. "And right now I have homework to finish and a maths problem that is trying to force my brain out of my ears."

Blue eyes blinked and cleared and the young genius leaned forward.

"Show me."

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"So, nothing unusual. As usual." Makoto's chin flopped into her hand and she glanced briefly at the small pile of books underneath her elbow before deciding that it wasn't worth the effort to move.

"Luna detected a few small energy spikes around the city, but..." Ami's clear voice was interrupted by an exclamation from Usagi.

"That's it!" the blonde haired princess gestured excitedly with one hand, almost spilling the iced soda she held in the other. "That must be something to do with this heat wave! Some new threat has appeared and is trying to weaken the whole city by making us too hot to do anything and… and… it makes everyone bad tempered too!"  Usagi planted both hands on the table and grinned triumphantly at her startled friends.

Ami blinked and her delicate eyebrows raised a fraction as she regarded her excited friend. "A... semi-logical conclusion, Usagi-chan, but…"

"It could be true! This weather isn't right, is it Rei-chan? You said it was too hot too!"

Rei glared at Usagi, not bothering to shift from her comfortable slouch against the back of her seat. "Don't drag me into this again, idiot. The last time you had some hare-brained idea about enemy activity we ended up spending three hours on top of a warehouse in a rainstorm!"

Usagi scowled, crystal blue eyes narrowing as she shoved herself forward, almost to Rei's side of the table. "You always have to pick holes in things, Rei-chan!"

Rei snorted derisively. "I don't have to pick holes Usagi; your ideas already have so many I could use them as a tea strainer."

A flush of angry red appeared on Usagi's cheeks as she leaned precariously close to the other girl. "At least I _have_ ideas, Rei-chan..."

An answering spark lit in Rei's violet eyes as she too shifted forward, almost nose to nose with the furious blonde. "…" As Rei opened her mouth to speak, any retort was lost in the thunder of a huge explosion from somewhere outside.

For a brief second, everything froze and it seemed almost deafeningly silent. Then with a rush, chaos broke through stunned shock. The crowds erupted into overflowing rivers of panic and the screams of terrified people mixed with the whistle and beep of alarms and the loud, strident tone of a single car horn. The five girls pushed their way steadily through the confusion until they reached the street outside the ice cream parlour. Dust filled the air and it was almost impossible to see through the stumbling crowds around them.

"This way!" Makoto used her height and strength to their advantage as she ploughed a path towards a gap between two nearby buildings.

The girls caught their breath as they stood in the shadow of the alley, hidden from the turmoil by a stack of boxes and trashcans.

"Wha... What happened?" The blonde had never looked less like a princess. Clothes twisted and hair spiking away from its neat ponytails, she was the picture of confused misery as she shivered, small tears tracking their way through the dust that covered her face. Rei placed one hand on her shoulder, moving closer and murmuring something reassuring.

"I don't know," Minako replied as she took out her transformation wand, "but the road is blocked and there may be people hurt over there. We have to help."

Nods of agreement greeted this statement as the others reached for their wands. Even Usagi now wore a look of determination as she steadied herself, preparing to transform.

_~Somewhere in the city a darkened room flickered in the blue-white light of a dozen monitors._

_ "Transport caused minor damage to the local area, my Lord, but all five targets have been located and are still within range"_

_Calculating eyes watched as people moved like ants across the images on the screens._

_"Proceed."~_

The five senshi clambered their way cautiously past the last high pile of rubble and found themselves on the edge of a large crater that had sheared straight through the road surface into the earth and rock below. Smoke and dust still filled the air making it difficult to see the full extent of the destruction. Mercury started forward only to be halted by a strong grip on her arm.

"Wait." Jupiter's voice was commanding as she pulled the reluctant ice senshi back to her side. The pressure of the taller girl's hand eased as she looked warmly into her friend's concerned face. "I know you're anxious to get to any wounded as quickly as possible, but we still don't know what caused this."

Mercury's face flushed slightly and she nodded, reaching for her tactical computer. Jupiter's hand lingered a moment in a brief brush of reassurance before she turned away to join Venus and Mars at the rim of the crater.

Mercury flipped her computer open and activated her visor. "I'll do a preliminary scan to assess..." 

"No need." Mars' quiet voice interrupted as a low growl sounded from in front of them.

_~The light in the room brightened as one image was expanded to fill a much larger screen on    one wall._

_ "We have contact, my Lord."_

_A chair creaked slightly as the figure seated there shifted slightly forward and spoke._

_"Engage as planned."~_

Sailor Mars didn't know whether the thing in front of her was some kind of dog or a giant lizard, but one thing she was certain of was that it couldn't be from Earth. Scales rustling, it moved forward with a sinuous grace, its inch long fangs bared in a vicious snarl and its rumbling growl filled with obvious hostility. Bracing herself for combat, the red clad senshi of fire shifted back slightly as the creature paced forward. She could feel the other senshi moving into position from behind when a sudden rattle of stone from the left distracted her; quicker than she thought possible, the enemy in front of her lunged forward, forcing her into a frantic twist to avoid the attack. More stone clattered to the ground around them, signalling the arrival of more of the creatures.

Now she knew the speed her attacker was capable of, Mars forced herself to focus on the creature in front of her, praying that her friends could deal with any other threats. Feinting to the right she tried to break off to give herself enough distance to summon an attack, but although the beast fell for the trick, it recovered and followed her moves before she had gone more than a few steps. Violet eyes narrowed as the fiery young woman held her guard up, watching closely for any sign of an opportunity to break the stalemate.

Sailor Mercury typed quickly as she continued her scan of the area, two… three… four glowing dots had appeared on the screen of her tactical computer when the crunch of shifting rubble from directly behind caused her to spin round in alarm. No more than three feet away stood another of the lizard-like creatures, so close she could see the gleam of its small, black eyes as its gaze flicked between her and the other senshi. She knew the moment it would spring as the dark eyes narrowed and the muscles in its hind legs tensed, and she realised that she had no more than a fraction of a second to brace herself as the thing leapt.

Sailor Jupiter had moved no more than a step towards Mars when a flicker of movement from the left caught her eye. Turning, she tensed as the low shadow of another enemy flashed across the gap between two piles of debris.

"I see you…" She whispered. Smiling grimly she began to prepare her attack, her fists crackling with energy as she took aim at the mound of tumbled bricks that the creature had disappeared behind. Suddenly the sound of a scuffle and a cry from behind caused her eyes to widen in unaccustomed fear, her mind screaming one name as she instinctively tried to pull back the energy of her attack and turn.

_'AMI!'___

_~"All units in position my Lord, two targets successfully engaged."_

_ "Excellent. Engage all designated targets NOW!"~_

Sailor Venus staggered and her attack dissipated as another creature appeared seemingly from nowhere and sped past her with breathtaking speed. Dropping to one knee to regain her balance she yelled as she frantically tried to gather her energies and protect the creature's obvious target.

"SAILOR MOON!"

At the sound of Venus' shout, Sailor Mars' concentration shattered as if it had never been. Spinning round she desperately fired off her quietly prepared attack a split second before a heavy weight smashed into her back.

The blonde haired princess of the moon screamed as the enemy before her erupted into searing flames, its body already crumbling into ash as it struck the ground. Still screaming incoherently, she ran forward to where Mars had fallen beneath the powerful body of the other creature and kicked wildly at its muscled back. Her foot thudded into its scaly hide just as Venus' chain encircled it, yanking it away from the unconscious fire senshi.

Amid the dust and rubble at the rim of the crater, Sailor Mercury blinked slowly as the thudding pain in her skull began to fade. The sense of menacing weight on her chest was gone and the air stank of ozone and charred flesh.

'_I must have hit my head. The enemy...!' Wincing she struggled to rise, her eyes falling on the blackened body of one of the creatures, its limbs still twitching as tiny sparks of electricity played across its skin. Staggering to her feet, the dazed senshi of ice stood just in time to avoid the flailing tangle of bodies that slammed past her and rolled down the slope to thud into the ground below._

Twined together in a vicious embrace, Sailor Jupiter and one of the lizard creatures lay at the bottom of the slope, locked in a battle of strength so evenly balanced it was almost motionless. Snarling and snapping the creature tried to push through the thunder senshi's guard to reach her with its deadly fangs. With a matching snarl, the auburn haired girl pushed back, one hand gripping a scaled limb and the other wrapped around her enemy's throat. Almost imperceptibly, Jupiter's grasp began to weaken and slowly but surely, the heavy jawed head moved lower.

"NO!" blue light flashed in Mercury's hand as a freezing fog rolled forward to surround the creature, transforming it into a gleaming mass of ice. Emerald green eyes flashed in triumph as Jupiter struck upwards, shattering the beast into a cloud of glittering fragments.

With a despairing howl, the last of the creatures vanished as the pure light of Sailor Moon's attack struck it where it lay in the circle of Venus' chain. Choking back a sob, the moon princess dropped to her knees beside the crumpled form of Sailor Mars.

*   *   *

_~Light flickered as the images on the screens faded to be replaced by lines of text and complicated diagrams._

_"Report"_

_ A figure moved to kneel before the chair in the center of the room._

_"Combat awareness appeared minimal, my Lord, except where the prime target was concerned, and their team co-ordination was certainly below standard. A preliminary strength assessment indicates that their power is sufficiently below that of our elite troops that a victory is practically guaranteed in the next attack. We almost crippled them in our first strike my Lord!"_

_A low snarl echoed through the room and the kneeling figure cowered._

_"Do not underestimate this enemy, Sub-Commander, they may yet display a hidden depth of ability that would surprise you. Arrogance has been the downfall of too many already and I shall not make that mistake." _

_A hand waved in dismissal and the kneeling officer rose and hurried from the room. For a long moment all was quiet, and then a low voice whispered into the silence._

_"I shall never make that mistake again."~ _


	3. Chapter 2

If the start of this chapter does not make sense to you then please go back and read the last half of the previous chapter, ff.net's bot wouldn't mark it as updated when I changed it. I am sorry I posted the previous chapter in two parts, I shall avoid doing that again as it caused too much confusion.

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It was late when the five girls climbed their way slowly up the long flight of stairs to the Hikawa shrine. Sailor Mars had regained consciousness and de-transformed shortly before the city emergency services had arrived, and had reluctantly given in to Ami's repeated urgings to see one of the many doctors hurrying around the scene. A mild concussion was all she had allowed the busy paramedic to diagnose before she brushed him off gruffly and joined the others in helping with the rescue effort. None of them had stopped until late into the evening.

Makoto's muscles burned as she forced her tired legs to take the last step up to the doors of the shrine. Even Rei had given up on her stubbornness and was leaning into Minako's support as she reached for the handle of the screen door. A quick glance assured the tall girl that her blue haired friend was still by her side; Ami's soft voice was murmuring encouragements to a bedraggled looking Usagi as she guided the exhausted girl up the last few steps.

Makoto shook her head thoughtfully as she watched the pair reach the door. _'Always looking out for everyone else, eh, Ami-chan?'_ She frowned slightly as she realised the smaller girl seemed to be favouring her right hand a lot. _'Maybe someone should be looking after you sometimes…'_

After what seemed an eternity, the weary group reached the peace and security of one of the shrine's guest rooms. Before Rei could join the others on the neatly arranged futons, she felt a small but firm hand grasp hers.

"You may have kept yourself on your feet this long, Rei-chan, but you can't hide the fact that you were hurt." Ami's voice was as firm as her grip and her face was calm but determined. "That was a nasty blow you took and if you won't accept the proper medical attention, at least let me check that there is nothing serious wrong with you." Rei opened her mouth to protest but stopped when one fine eyebrow twitched slightly over an unforgiving sapphire eye. She knew that look. Ami seldom looked at any of them like this, but even Rei couldn't refuse when she did. None of them could.

"Ok, ok. At least allow me some dignity though, the bathroom is over here." Rei sighed and gestured for Ami to follow as she began walking down the short hallway outside.

Usagi lay on her back on one of the futons and stared blankly at the ceiling, seemingly oblivious to the concerned looks Minako was shooting her way.

"Uh… Usagi-chan..?" Minako scooted across to peer more closely at her unusually silent friend. "Usagi-chan, are you ok?"

Usagi sighed and continued to stare at the ceiling for a moment before rolling over onto her side and looking at Minako, an expression of slightly lost confusion on her face.

"I don't understand what happened today, Mina-chan." Usagi's voice was quiet and surprisingly thoughtful. "There's been nothing for months, not since we defeated Metallia. Even when we got our memories back there was nothing except maybe an ordinary robbery or something now and again, and then suddenly, out of nowhere…" her voice paused for a moment before becoming even quieter. "I just thought it was all over."

Minako reached out one hand to Usagi, wanting more than anything to wipe the look of sadness from her princess' face.

"I don't understand what happened yet either, Usagi-chan." The blonde haired senshi of love tried to make her voice as soothing as possible, "But I do know that we'll find out, and we'll make sure it never happens again." Her hand stroked lightly on Usagi's arm as she spoke, lulling the exhausted princess into a more relaxed pose. "Maybe Ami can tell us more; she must have picked up something on her computer."

"Yeah… Ami-chan will know." Usagi mumbled as she flopped onto her back with a tired sigh. "Ami-chan always knows what to do."

"Not tonight." Makoto's voice spoke from the other side of the room, almost startling the two blondes. "Tonight we all need food and sleep, we'll think about everything else in the morning. Why don't you order us some take out, Mina-chan?"

Makoto found herself faced by two pairs of amazed light blue eyes and she blinked in puzzlement for a moment before smiling slightly.

"I'm too tired to cook tonight. Just go ahead and order, I can suffer it this once." Makoto stood slowly and headed towards the hallway where Ami's voice could be heard as she and Rei left the bathroom.

"…amount of bruising that you have, Rei-chan, I suggest that you try sleeping on your stomach for a few days."

Rei mumbled a reply as she strode past Makoto, obviously anxious to escape now that she had proved that there was nothing serious wrong with her. Makoto grinned in sympathy as she moved to stand in front of Ami.

"Rei is ok then?" She asked the smaller girl. 

In a gesture that gave away just how tired she was, Ami ran one hand through her short blue hair and sighed as she replied. "She has some bad bruising, but nothing is broken. Not that she would sit still long enough for me to do more than a cursory examination." Ami looked up and caught Makoto's grin. "She's even worse than you, Mako-chan. I didn't think that was possible."

Makoto ducked her head tried her best to look contrite, failing miserably as she noticed the amused twinkle in her friend's sapphire blue eyes.

"Ok, ok. I know I'm a bad patient, but if what they say about doctors is true then you must be even worse." Makoto's face became exaggeratedly serious as she placed one hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "It's a tough job, but someone has to find out." She pushed Ami gently back towards the bathroom.

Ami looked confused for a moment until Makoto placed her hand carefully on the other girl's right arm and turned it to show the long streak of dried blood that ran from the tip of Ami's little finger to her wrist.

"Ah... I…" The blue haired girl looked completely dumbfounded as she allowed herself to be lead into the bathroom. "I have no idea how that happened."

_~ Across the city a tall figure stood gazing out of the window at the darkened city as his mind roamed far in the past. He could almost feel the sting of ash in his eyes, the taste of his own blood on his tongue. In his memories the rubble crunched under his feet as he walked; the rubble of a shattered kingdom that lay scattered across a fading battlefield. Before him lay a fallen warrior, bright uniform stained by char and blood; he could almost smell her rage and fear as she struggled to rise, and it was an intoxicating scent. With a hoarse yell of triumph he raised his hand to deliver the final blow, only to have his strike interrupted by a shout as fierce as his own. In front of him stood another warrior, shielding the other from his blow, her emerald eyes blazing as she screamed her defiance._

_"Never!__ Never while I still draw breath shall you destroy this Kingdom, never shall you destroy the __Crystal__ and NEVER shall you destroy HER!" She leapt towards him, hands blazing with energy. The taste of blood in his mouth grew stronger and his head rang with pain but a cry and the sound of a body hitting the ground informed him that his counter attack had struck true. He shook his head to clear his vision as he stepped forward to finish the second warrior, her unconscious body lying just out of his reach. Suddenly his movement was halted as something wrapped around his right leg. Looking down he saw the first warrior clinging to him, her eyes wide with fear as she pleaded in a desperate flood of words._

_"No! Don't… please don't… you've won, there's no need. We can't fight you any more. Don't hurt her any more... please don't... don't kill her, please... please…" _

_He paused, savouring the thrill that ran through him with each and every word. With a small smile he turned away to look back at her unconscious companion. "Don't worry, little one, you will be with her soon." He raised his hand once more but staggered as a blinding white light filled the sky. Blinking, he stared in amazement as the unconscious warrior in front of him began to glow with a soft white light, her form blurring and fading as he watched. Shaking, he jerked his gaze away and down to the other warrior at his feet only to see her beginning to disappear as well…_

_The tall figure sweated and slammed his fist against the window as his mind played out the final scene. He snarled angrily and then calmed as the memory skipped a beat and changed. In his mind the bright light was gone and he smiled as the energy of his attack flowed over the unconscious warrior, destroying her where she lay. Reaching down, he seized the other young warrior's slender throat in his grip. Now he could hear her screams of anguish, her cries sweet music to his ears as he tightened his grip on her neck. Almost laughing with sheer pleasure, he stared deep into sapphire blue eyes as they dulled and closed. Giving one final squeeze of his fist he felt his whole body shudder with the ecstasy of victory._

_'Soon.'__ He whispered. ~_

Ami fidgeted where she was sat on the side of the bath, the cold enamel chilling her slightly as she waited for Makoto to finish cleaning the wound on her right hand.

"I could have done this myself, Mako-chan, really there is no need…" She stopped, caught helplessly by amused emerald green eyes.

"You are many things, Mizuno Ami, but you are NOT left handed." Makoto grinned as she laid Ami's hand down on a clean towel and reached for the bottle of antiseptic. "I have no doubt you could do this, but I wouldn't care to deal with either the curses or the mess in the bathroom afterwards." She grinned even more as her favourite look of wide eyed shock crossed the blue haired girl's face.

"I do not curse!" Ami tried to glare at her friend, but the auburn haired girl's grin just got wider until she finally dropped her eyes in defeat. "…often." She amended to the sound of Makoto's chuckle.

Ami watched as Makoto poured a little of the antiseptic into a shallow bowl and carefully folded a soft piece of gauze into small square before dipping it into the liquid.

"This may sting a little." The taller girl lifted Ami's hand gently as she looked into her friend's face for any sign of hesitation.

"I'm aware of that, Mako-chan." Ami looked back at the other girl almost impatiently.

"Ok then." Makoto leaned closer and began carefully applying antiseptic to the long scratch on the smaller girl's hand. She heard Ami's breath hiss inward in a small gasp and she paused. "You ok?" she looked up at her friend. 

Ami opened her eyes when she felt Makoto stop. "It stings a little." She whispered, giving her friend a small, ironic smile.

Makoto shook her head slightly and smiled in return as she bent again to her task, "Nearly done."

To distract herself from the burn of the antiseptic, Ami tried imagining that her hand belonged to someone else. Blanking her mind she looked down and tried to think as if she were a doctor observing a nurse working on a patient.

_'Nice and clean,' _she thought, _'Makoto really is doing a very good job. I didn't realise she knew so much first aid and she is being very gentle. That's good.'_ Her eyes wandered from her own hands to those of her friend and her thoughts began to drift. _'Such long, slender hands... I wonder how she keeps them so soft when she is always working so hard.'_ Her gaze drifted upwards to the other girl's face. Almost absently she found herself noting every feature as if trying to memorize them. Waves of auburn hair, the shine of the light making it shimmer with reddish tints, the curve of an eyebrow with the faint crease of a tiny frown above it; the way the shadows curved along the line of a slender neck, contrasting warm bronze skin with deeper shades. _'She is so pretty... I don't understand why she thinks she isn't. It's not right that she thinks so of herself, she should know how pretty she is...'_

"You ARE pretty, Mako-chan." Ami only realised she had spoken out loud when startled emerald eyes jerked up to meet her own. Alarmed, she tried frantically to force her brain to come up with a coherent excuse for her outburst. "That is… uh… I…" a warm hand on her arm stopped her mid-stutter.

"Thank you." Makoto smiled at Ami, increasing the smaller girl's confusion a hundredfold. "I have no idea why you said that, but thank you anyway." She watched in amusement as the other girl resumed her stuttering.

"Mako-chan… I… ah..."

Makoto's smile remained as she raised one questioning eyebrow. "Perhaps the pain is making you delusional?" 

"No I..."

"No? Well then, stop making me blush and let me finish bandaging your hand."

Ami blinked and gaped. _'Perhaps I AM delusional...'._

Sorry this droned on so long, I just can't seem to write short chapters. Thank you all for reading, and thank you very much for all your reviews, they are much appreciated.


	4. Chapter 3

The next day dawned bright and far too early for an exhausted Usagi, who was stubbornly resisting Minako's gentle urgings to w

The next day dawned bright and far too early for an exhausted Usagi, who was stubbornly resisting Minako's gentle urgings to wake up. Firmly holding her eyes closed she rolled away from the other girl's shaking hand and buried her head beneath the blankets as she tried to ignore the sound of voices coming from somewhere down the hall.

"Wake up Usagi-chan, its gone ten o'clock. We let you sleep in because we all had a long day, but it's getting late..." The long haired blonde reached over and shook the mound of blankets once more.

"Ngh. iss't'early... g'way" Usagi groaned almost incoherently as she tried to burrow deeper under the covers.

"All right Usagi-chan, I'll have your share of Mako-chan's waffles, you go back to sleep." Minako moved away slightly, watching the twisted bundle of girl and bedding carefully. It took only seconds for a pair of bleary blue eyes topped by tousled blonde hair to emerge from the covers.

"Waffles?" Usagi blinked several times as the other girl tried to hide her grin. "With syrup?"

"With syrup, butter or anything else you can find in the cupboard. Get up, Usagi-chan, before they really are all eaten." Still smiling, Minako left the room and headed back towards the kitchen.

Makoto placed the last batch of waffles on the warmer for Usagi and took her own to the table where Rei and Ami were finishing theirs. Rei was delicately suppressing a yawn as she speared the last piece of her waffle with her fork and Ami was studying her tactical computer with a small frown of concentration that was at odds with her slightly dishevelled morning look. Noticing that the blue haired girl had again forgotten her breakfast while she stared fixedly at her computer, the tall brunette reached over and gently pushed the other girl's plate a little closer.

"Your breakfast is getting cold, Ami-chan. You'll concentrate better on full stomach."

Looking up from her studies, Ami took a moment to focus on Makoto's words before smiling in response and reaching for her plate.

"Thank you Mako-chan. I am sorry if I seem distracted this morning but my computer registered some very odd readings yesterday and I can't quite figure out some of the energy signatures. Perhaps if I changed the algorithm slightly on the filter that would..." Catching herself, the smaller girl tore her gaze away from the screen of her computer again and reached over to pick up her fork. Looking with almost embarrassed apology at her friend she quickly ate a piece of breakfast waffle.

Makoto stifled a giggle as she watched the young genius try and concentrate on her breakfast instead of the tantalising mysteries contained on her computer.

"If those have got cold, I can always make you some more. You really should have something to eat; it was such a long day yesterday." The taller girl reached out and scooped up a piece of Ami's waffle with her own fork. "Hmm... yup, they've gone cold alright" she made a move as if to leave the table but was stopped by an exclamation from Ami.

"No really Mako-chan, these are fine." Hastily Ami grabbed another mouthful of waffle and munched determinedly. "They are delicious, honestly..." The blue haired girl relaxed as her friend remained seated. "I always enjoy your cooking; I simply have some things to concentrate on this morning. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for now, Ami-chan?" Minako's cheery tone enquired from the doorway.

Rei looked up with a tired frown. "Makoto is in mothering mode and Ami is, of course, apologising for everything. Typical morning here Mina."

Minako laughed and took a seat at the table with her friends. "Still haven't cured the morning grumps, Rei?" The blonde haired senshi of love giggled again as Rei grunted something incomprehensible and turned back to wiping the last of the syrup from her plate.

"Who cares if Rei-chan is grumpy? So long as she hasn't eaten my waffles..." A very ruffled looking Usagi wandered into the kitchen in Minako's wake, heading straight for the waffles on the warmer. "Mmmm... waffles." Grabbing a plate she too took a seat at the table.

Silence reigned as the kitchen settled again with each girl preoccupied with their own morning routines. Makoto was now happily eating her own breakfast, the quiet sounds of her fork clinking on her plate almost buried in the muffled exclamations of enjoyment coming from Usagi's side of the table. Minako waved her fork to illustrate her point as she tried unsuccessfully to engage a stubbornly sullen Rei in conversation.

Ami was again staring fixedly at her computer while her agile mind assessed multiple ways to squeeze the last drop of information from the data she had collected the previous day. Absently taking another mouthful of her breakfast, she resisted the urge to tap her fingers on the table top as she hit yet another problem with her analysis. It didn't help that she couldn't seem to stay focused with her usual determination; her mind kept wandering back to the events of the day before, skittering back and forth over the details like a searching hound. Searching for what, she wasn't quite sure yet.

Unnervingly her mind returned once more to the image of startled green eyes looking up at her. _'I don't know why I keep thinking of that...'_ Clearing her throat slightly she leaned forward over her computer and tried to ignore the faint sensation of a blush that threatened to form. _'Makoto and I are friends, and as friends we often complement each other. It's nothing we haven't done before. There is no reason why this should be different, none at all.'_ Her fingers flicked quickly across the keypad, one half of her mind still absently calculating distances and energies. Looking up she glanced over at her friend, listening for a moment as Makoto replied smilingly to some inane comment from Usagi. _'There, see, Mako-chan doesn't seem to be bothered by anything this morning, it was just an idle conversation.'_ Looking down again she focused hard on the task at hand, but found one small thought impossible to shake. _'Then why do I still feel as if something has changed?'_

Shaking her head slightly at Usagi's strange sense of humour, Makoto finished the last of her waffles and pushed her plate to one side. Leaning back comfortably in her chair her eyes wandered across the table and paused on the girl seated at one end, blue haired head bowed intently over a keyboard. Opening her mouth she began to ask if the young genius had come to any conclusions, but found herself changing the question as she noticed the distracted frown on her friends face.

"Having a problem Ami-chan?"

Puzzled blue eyes looked up and Makoto watched in confusion as the other girl seemed almost to freeze, eyes widening with some unreadable emotion before suddenly pushing back her chair and standing up, hands scrambling to collect her computer.

"I... I think I'll make a better analysis of this at home. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Makoto tried not to gape as the smaller girl hurried from the room, the others mumbling agreeable good-byes without seeming to notice anything wrong. Pushing herself up from the table she quickly followed.

"Ami?" Makoto called out to her friend as she reached the door. With a barely perceptible pause the other girl turned and smiled. The thunder senshi found it hard to ignore the way the younger girl's smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she looked back.

"Are you ok?" Looking for a way to gauge her friend's mood, Makoto said the first thing she could think of. "You... you didn't finish your breakfast."

Another slight pause. "I'm fine Mako-chan, I just need to finish analysing this data."

Stumped by the perfectly reasonable answer, Makoto's gaze searched Ami's face, seeking other clues. Seeing the way the other girl held herself at a polite distance, the tall brunette sighed slightly and decided not to push any further. _'Whatever it is, Ami will deal with it herself I guess. She usually does.'_ Reaching out she rested her hand briefly on the shorter girl's shoulder.

"Don't work too hard, ok? And don't forget to eat!"

The answering smile seemed more genuine this time. "I'll remember, Mako-chan. I should have a preliminary assessment done by this evening and we can all discuss it at tomorrow's meeting."

Makoto nodded and stepped back slightly. "See you tomorrow then." Still puzzling over her friend's strange mood, she watched as Ami disappeared down the steps of the shrine with a small wave.

Hurrying along the pavement Ami stared down at the polished leather of her shoes as they tapped out quick regular steps along the concrete, her thoughts following a more rapid pace as she sought to understand the whirl of emotions that she seemed to be feeling.

'_Having a problem Ami-chan?'_

Resisting the urge to close her eyes at the memory she took a quick breath to steady herself as she moved politely around a mother fussing with a baby in a push chair in the middle of the path.

'_Yes.__.. it would seem that I do have a problem, I just need to figure out what it is.'_ Noticing that her steps had speeded up in response to the confusion in her mind, she took another breath and deliberately slowed her pace as she thought. _'Whatever is wrong, I think it's been wrong for a while.'_ Ami wasn't sure when she had started feeling different, but she was certain it wasn't something recent. _'My grades are still at the usual level, I've spent time with Mother and with the other Senshi so I can't be feeling lonely as I have before... maybe it's something left over from the experience at D-Point, maybe the stress of a new semester, I'm sure I'm not ill.' _With a small shake of her head she decided to focus on one point at a time, trying to figure out why she was feeling so agitated. With a slower, more thoughtful step she continued towards her home.

A short distance behind, a slim figure slipped unnoticed through the morning pedestrians in the wake of the blue haired young senshi, lips barely moving in almost soundless communication.

_'__Target number two __acquired and unaware, my Lord.'_

_Across the city in a darkened room, a figure leaned forward and spoke with a quiet yet commanding voice into a communicator._

'_Follow and observe, do not engage. Repeat, do not engage.'_

'_Acknowledged; O__bserve and report.'_

_# # #_

'SHINGO!' With a strangled yell, Usagi threw the cushion back at her grinning younger brother and leaped for the television remote control. 'It's my turn to watch television!' Swatting away the smaller boy's hands, the blonde haired princess yelled again in triumph as her fingers closed around the slim black plastic control.

'No fair!' Shingo rubbed his stinging knuckles and glared as a grinning Usagi settled onto the couch and began changing channels rapidly. 'You get to stay out all night at your friend's and when you come back you take over everything...' Slumping onto the other end of the couch, he subsided into general muttering.

'Maybe one day you'll grow up and then you can have more privileges, as earned by a suitably _respectful_ younger brother, Shingo.' Usagi grinned smugly.

'Me? Grow up? Why you..! I'm not the one who bawled her eyes out last week when her little stuffed toy got...'

'That's enough.' The imminent row was interrupted by a firm voice from the kitchen as Tsukino senior appeared, a small frown fighting with an amused grin at his daughter's rather comical expression of outrage. 'Speaking of privileges, if you want to keep yours young lady, I suggest you start by clearing up the crockery you broke yesterday when you washed the dishes from breakfast. They are still there and your mother is not pleased.' With a gesture to the kitchen, he then turned and raised one eyebrow at his smirking son. 'Shingo, go tidy your room. It's a mess.' With a small sigh, he took his newspaper and sat in his favourite chair, shaking his head slightly as he ignored the face pulling and gestures that began immediately his attention was elsewhere.

After spending what seemed like all day searching for every last bit of broken dish, Usagi finally carried the resulting full bag outside. Still muttering over her brother's attitude she dropped the bag into the trash can, clanging the lid back on with unnecessary force. Without interrupting her muttered curses she turned and stomped back into the house, unaware of the shadowy figure lurking next to a tree at the very edge of the garden.

# # #

Flipping back her long blonde hair, Minako tried hard to concentrate on the textbook on her desk, her brow furrowed in a frown as she stared at the diagrams on the page. _'I wish Ami was here, she could explain this all in a minute I'm sure. Oh! I'll never get this finished by Monday...'_ sighing she leaned her chin on one long delicate hand as she turned the page, clear blue eyes scanning the lines of text. A few minutes passed before the young senshi of love sighed once more and looked up to stare almost blankly around her room. Eyes resting on a small gold trophy of a girl leaping and striking a volleyball she frowned again. _'Yech! Dust! I need to clean my room too... oh I can't concentrate.'_ With a sudden decision she flipped her book shut, stood and crossed to the window; reaching up in a graceful stretch she opened it and stood for a moment in the small breeze that filtered into the room. Her eyes passed unknowingly over the watcher below as she looked out across the street before turning and heading for the bathroom and a nice cool shower. _'It's so hot today.'_

_# # #_

The silence of the Hikawa shrine seemed almost smothering in the midday heat, the tiny breeze doing no more than strike an occasional faint shimmer of sound from the chimes that hung over the doorway to a small back room. Wide screen doors open to the surrounding grounds, the polished wood floor of the little room gleamed with reflected sunlight as the young raven haired girl kneeling quietly at the low table drew her brush in quick, firm strokes down the short slip of paper in front of her. Placing the brush carefully back in its holder, the girl blew gently across the ink to dry it before tying a short red ribbon through the small hole at the bottom of the completed blessing. Leaning back onto her heels, Rei breathed a small sigh and reached for the cool drink placed on the one corner of the table. Before she could take even a sip she was interrupted by loud squawks and screeches from outside. Almost dropping the glass in her haste she stood and ran into the temple grounds.

As she reached the edge of the grounds two gleaming black ravens winged down out of the sky to land, one on each shoulder. Absently soothing the agitated birds with quiet, reassuring words, Rei moved towards a tall tree close to the outer wall. Alert and wary, she scanned the area, taking note of the scattered leaves mixed with shimmering raven feathers that littered the ground beneath the tree. A quick glance upward revealed nothing but sky and slowly waving branches. Still guarded, she paused before reaching out to run one finger down the long pale scratch in the tree bark in front of her. After a long moment the young miko turned and walked uneasily back to the shrine. Behind her the sunlight glinted briefly on something tiny and metallic in the branches of the tree.

_In the darkened room a speaker crackled to life, drowning out the low hum of machinery._

'_Target number three has presented unexpected complications. I beg forgiveness my Lord, but it was necessary to place a remote device in the location instead.'_

_A low hiss of displeasure echoed around the room before the commanding voice growled in reply._

'_Very well. Maintain observation in all other locations, and be sure your skills do not fail me again.'_

_There was a brief pause before the other voice responded, almost breathless with restrained fear._

'_Acknowledged. I hear and obey, My lord.'_

_# # #_

Makoto kicked the door shut behind her and headed towards her kitchen, depositing the over-full shopping bags on the counter with a sigh of relief. Reaching up with one hand she brushed an errant strand of reddish brown hair away from her face before beginning to remove the contents of the bags and stack them in cupboards and on shelves around the small but neat kitchen. Finally finished with her task she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice, pouring herself a tall glass before giving the refrigerator door her customary gentle kick shut as she turned and walked towards the living room. Flopping down onto the couch with a heavy sigh she took a long drink from her glass and reached for the morning's pile of mail left unsorted on the nearby table.

'_Bills, junk mail__... no I do not want a life-size inflatable Pokémon...'_ stifling a small noise of derision she tossed the offending leaflet in the waste bin by the side of the couch and continued to sift through the remaining letters. _'Bank statement, more bills... ah.' _With quick shake the young brunette unfolded a large leaflet advertising a sale at a nearby store. _'Half price household goods, hmm... I wonder if they have any alarm clocks, I really should get a new one.'_ With a guilty twitch she recalled the battered state of her current clock, _'I have to learn to stop hitting the off button so hard...'_ Stretching her long legs along the cushions of the couch, she took another sip of her drink, eyes scanning the bright colours and bold lettering of the advertisement.

'_That's a nice saucepan set, good range of sizes__... oh! A blue lunchbox, with a little sleeping kitten on it, that's so cute... Ami would love that, maybe I should get it for her it might cheer her up.'_ Makoto paused for a moment, her finger tracing the outline of the bright picture on the leaflet. _'I wonder if she is ok, I can't help worrying just a little, it's not like her to seem so bothered. I hope she wasn't too shaken in the attack... maybe that's it. Perhaps I should go check on her.'_ Shifting her legs, Makoto started to get up from the couch but then paused, biting her lip slightly in thought. _'No, I shouldn't fuss so much, she obviously wanted to be alone when she left earlier.'_

Settling back onto the couch, Makoto sighed slightly before reaching for a magazine and leafing slowly through it, absently noting clothing styles and special offers. Frowning slightly, she turned another page, her thoughts still dwelling on her absent friend. _'I wonder what's bothering Ami, it's not like her to spend the weekend at home when her mother is working, usually she comes over and helps me study..'_ Makoto flicked a quick glance at the clock on the wall and sighed again, _'Right about now I'd be making lunch for us and trying to persuade her to have something other than sandwiches.'_ The thought brought a smile to her face as she remembered how surprisingly stubborn her blue haired friend could be. Feeling somehow restless without Ami's steady presence to help her, Makoto decided not to even bother trying to study. _'I think I will go to that sale, maybe I can pick up a bargain or two.'_ Grabbing her purse from the stand in the hallway she closed and locked the front door behind her, oblivious to the tall figure that detached itself from the shadow of a nearby building and followed her down the street.

# # #

Evening had long settled on the quiet apartment complex as Ami sat back from her desk and stretched, reaching her arms high behind her head in an effort to rid herself of the persistent crick in her neck. Dropping her arms she tilted her head slightly side to side in a loosening movement as she pressed a key on the keyboard in front of her. Watching the progress bar as it crawled slowly across the bottom of the screen she waited patiently for the program to finish what she hoped was the final analysis of yesterday's data.

'_I think I need to talk to Luna, the familiarity of some of those energy patterns might be more than just my imagination, in fact, I'm sure it is. I'll be able to ask her tomorrow, she should come to the meeting with the others.'_ The thought of the other senshi brought an unwelcome return of the morning's earlier confusion. Having been unable to place any clear reasoning to her thoughts, the young genius had pushed them aside in favour of working out the complex yet far more understandable mathematical problems of data analysis; but, whatever the problem was, it obviously hadn't disappeared. With a small sigh of defeat, Ami sat back in her chair and rubbed her forehead. She was too tired to think about it now, tomorrow would be soon enough.


End file.
